England great Paul Gascoigne was spotted in the stands at Wembley for the Three Lions’ friendly against Brazil and paid tribute to the late Terry Venables.
Venables, who managed the national side between 1994 and 1996, was warmly remembered ahead of kick-off after the capacity crowd stood to applaud.
Venables’ Euro 96 squad, including Gascoigne and Alan Shearer, was invited by the FA to attend a commemoration ceremony in the Wembley Suite before watching the match from the Royal Box.
Gascoigne was pictured ahead of kick-off in a sharp three-piece suit and black tie.
England legend Paul Gascoigne watched the friendly against Brazil in the stands at Wembley
Gascoigne, who sported a light three-piece suit, paid tribute to the late Terry Venables
Venables was remembered ahead of kick-off after thousands of supporters stood to applaud
The football legend was capped 57 times by England during his storied career but has endured a decades-long battle with drink and mental health problems.
Recently, he revealed he was a ‘sad drunk’ living in the spare room of his agent’s house and that he had recently attended an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.
Gascoigne’s public struggles started during his time on the pitch but worsened after his retirement from the sport in 2004. In 2020, he said he had anti-alcohol pellets sewn into his stomach that would make him sick when he had a drink.
However, in a touching interview with the High Performance podcast, he said he now lives with his agent Katie Davies in Poole, on the outskirts of Bournemouth.
‘I used to be a happy drunk. I ain’t anymore. I’m a sad drunk,’ Gascoigne admitted. ‘I don’t go out and drink, I drink indoors.
Gascoigne, 56, opened up on his never-ending battle to stay sober in an emotional interview
The former England midfielder now lives in the spare room of his agent, Katie Davies (left)
‘If I want to make it a bad day, [all I need to do is] go down the pub. If I want it to be a good day, I get my flying rod out and go fishing.
‘It’s not the drinking, it’s the afterwards. Looking at my phone after and seeing 30 messages or missed calls, I know I’m in trouble. But I’ve been all right.
‘Last year wasn’t brilliant, was off and on for a couple of months.’
He went on to add: ‘People know Paul Gascoigne but Gazza, no one knows. Even me sometimes. I’ve spent a lot of years being down, when I did my ligaments and then my kneecap, I missed four years of football. I would’ve got 100 caps (for England).
‘I try not to get down because the world’s already down enough. And when I’m really down, that’s when I pick up a drink to cheer myself up.’
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